EA: Next-Gen Will "Most Likely" Not Be Backwards Compatible

Cross-device connectivity touted instead.

If anyone's got the inside track on what the next-generation consoles are going to feature, it's one of the biggest third-party publisher on the planet. EA has warned that the next Xbox and PlayStation consoles will likely not come with any backwards compatibility for previous models.

Instead, the company's chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen reckons that Sony and Microsoft will lean towards deeper cross-device connectivity. Most likely involving the PS Vita for the former, and Smartglass for the latter.

"We have internally, but no one externally has really seen what the look and feel will be like on the new consoles," Jorgensen told industry executives at a Q&A session at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference. "I think people are going to be pretty excited."

Then the back-compat drop. "An important thing to remember is that next-gen consoles will most likely not be backwards compatible... And if you [play] multiplayer on a game, you'll most likely not be able to play with someone on a different generation," he said.

Regarding device connectivity, "I do think once again without describing the new consoles, you've got to assume they're going to be highly integrated into the living room and the house, and there will be a lot of capability for interaction.

"I think as well you're going to see a lot more integration between tablets, phones, and the consoles over time. You're going to see people playing on glass at the same time they're playing on the console. And there's going to be some exciting innovations around that."